Exile: Escape From the Pit (also known simply as Exile I) is the first in Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software's Exile series of fantasy RPGs that were released for Macintosh and Windows. It was initially published by Fantasoft. Exile I would eventually be remade (and renamed) as Avernum.

Story

You are a group of adventurers, mages, thieves, and mixed malcontents, who have just been teleported, for crimes unknown and probably trivial, into the vast, labyrinthian underworld of Exile. There, you will meet the people who came before you, learn about the society that they have created, battle the nasty creatures that torment them, and ... and ...

And what? What is the goal? What are you trying to do?

That's a fair question. And there are many answers. Do you want to escape? Save the people of Exile from the dangers they face? Just explore, run around and kill? Wreak a horrid revenge on the surface world? Exile has many missions, some small, some large, some game-spanning. There are several ways to win the game, of varying difficulty. And there are towns and dungeons that just don't have much to do with anything.

Finding out how to save (or change, or destroy) the world will not be easy. You will need to search caverns, huge and small, convenient and remote, talking to people and searching for clues. And then, when you find out something you can do, you must make the harder choice: Is it something you should do?

DownloadsTop DL:v2.0.1 - The last and definitive version of Exile I (provided as a disk image with installer).2nd DL:v2.0 - The first version of Exile I with the updated graphics set.3rd DL:v1.3.1 - A point update from v1.3, and the last version of Exile I with the old-style graphics. It introduced a new title screen, and also allowed both melee and ranged weapons to be equipped simultaneously.4th DL:v1.3 Patch - Contains patches for updating versions 1.2 or 1.1.3 to v1.3. Importantly, v1.3 introduced the "AP" or "action points" system of combat.5th DL:v1.2 - Introduced the ability to save dialogue responses in a journal, and also added a background music feature utilizing MOD or MAD files (the included music file is of J.S. Bach's "Little Fugue" in G-minor, though it could be replaced with one of your choosing).6th DL:v1.1.3 - A point update from 1.1.2, it was mostly likely a bug fix.7th DL:v1.1.2 - An update from v1.1, 1.1.2 evidently fixed a crucial bug regarding weapon accuracy, as well as added improved graphics.8th DL:v1.1 - Added a Save Maps option, as well as item storage rooms. Also introduced an improved spell selection system, as well as save file loading from the Finder.9th DL:v1.0.5 - A significant update from the initial 1.0 release, v1.0.5 added several important features: integrated spell selection, improved ranged attack targeting, and a new character information window. It also fixed a bug that prevented the game from running on various machines.

Version 2.0.1 is also available from Spiderweb Software as a free download at the link provided.

Beware! Versions of Exile I prior to 1.3 do not use the "AP" system of combat found in later versions of the game and subsequent entries in the series. Characters in these versions are limited to just one tile of movement per turn.

@President_People No problem at all! I had found and uploaded the older versions of Exile II awhile ago, but put off (and promptly forgot about) putting up the ones of Exile I. It's really interesting seeing how things like this developed and changed over time! I actually like the older graphics, even if they're a bit cruder.

@ndtronerud Thank you very much for all of these! Looks like I was missing out on some pretty important updates with the older one after all.

As for any differences between the 1.1.2 versions we uploaded, the one from my end came off the Aztech Mac Cube. It was packed with shareware demos, and I can't tell you how many hours I sunk into them as a kid. Man, those were the days.

Also, I mentioned the application crashing when I tried editing the graphics, but this wasn't true for everything in the resource fork. My brother and I used to make player sprites of our D&D characters and it ran fine, so editing the player, NPC and monster sprites didn't seem to cause any issues. It's when the terrain graphics and animated objects were modified that problems arose. Just wanted to clear that up.

@President_People I went ahead and uploaded a number of versions I'd been sitting on for awhile, as well as your copy of version 1.1.2. I compared it to a copy of 1.1.2 that I had, but apart from a slightly different modification date on one single folder, the contents appeared to be identical. The bigger difference was the StuffIt files themselves, as mine was slightly bigger for whatever reason!

MadMac, thanks for sharing the info.
However, I've tried your formula on my copy of Exile I, and it sadly doesn't work
Furthermore, I've tried using a keygen for Exile II my friend found in the depths of his old Mac, and it doesn't work on Exile I either

Oh well, anyways, a great game! Deserves 4 of 5 (not 5 of 5 because Exile II is even better!) for its atmosphere, fine gameplay balance, and quite an intuitive interface.

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